Not quite 100%, but running again!

I've been running now pain free for a few weeks and it feels GREAT! My knee/IT Band is still not completely healed yet, but it feels good enough to get out and RUN! I am exactly 114 days from the WS100 and I have a ton of training to do before the race.

I ran 12 miles at Cedar Ridge Preserve last weekend with my buddies Josh and Matt. That trail is probably the best in Dallas for the type of terrain I will face during the WS100. I was pretty dehydrated from having some GI issues earlier in the week, but finished the run feeling OK.

This Saturday I headed down to Waco for the Waco 20 (20 mile race) held in Cameron Park next to the Brazos River. Wow -- what a great race - very beautiful and very hilly! Who knew that Waco had so many hills?!! I treated it as a training run and went out really easy. I finished in the back of the pack, but could not have been happier. I went 20 miles on a really tough course and had very few issues with my IT band. It started to bark a bit around mile 13 while going through some tough hills, but was fine a mile later. I felt strong the entire time and finished with a smile on my face.

I had the pleasure of attending the event with Matt, his terrific family, and a new buddy named David. These guys are very talented runners and did the 50K race where they both finished well. During the ride home, I got some good tips from these guys for the WS100.

I got a total of 1 hour of sleep before this race which helped to simulate race conditions during WS100. Last night was our good friend D'Lane's 40th birthday party at Ozona's. It was a GREAT time. Her husband (and another one of my running buddies, Bill) had his band play. D'Lane joined them onstage for a few select songs and it was a riot. Great night and great training for staying up all night during the Western States.

OK - I'm beat - and with the time change I need to get the kids to bed early tonight so I can get some much needed sleep!